This paintingis Norman Partridge's personal pictureof the different ways in whichlocal people helped the war effort.

You can see the uniforms ofthe emergency services, Air Raid Precaution (ARP) wardens, Civil Defence units, Women's Land Army, the Womens Voluntary Service, Guides and Scouts, and many more.

Norman Partridge

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Norman Partridge

Norman tells us how he developed his painting.

"I got about half a dozen different photos of the damage done in different parts of Croydon.And I assembled them all together and started to do rough sketches and then started to paint.

I suppose it took me about three months to finish it. I had to be very careful to get all the details right, especially the uniforms.

I wanted to include all the emergency services - the ARP, the land army, the police, the YMCA mobile canteens, and the children who had been evacuated but who had come back to Croydon when it seemed safe.

The houses in the background were like the ones flybombed on Brigstock Road, which was just round the corner from us.They were completely destroyed."

Volunteering for Civil Defence duties

Everyone helped to fight the war.By 1939, over 6,500 men and women had joined the voluntary servicesin Croydon.

They were well organisedat local and regional level.

Croydon's ARP Committee was established in 1937. They co-ordinated all the various Civil Defence Services.In 1941 it was renamed the Civil Defence Committee.

Beneath them each serviceworked long hourson a rota systemto ensure that the boroughwas protected at all times.

Find Out More

For a detailed, official accountof all the different civilian servicesshown in Norman's painting read:

'Croydon and the Second World War'by Berwick Sayers.

Reference copies of this bookare available in the Research Room.

The Research Room is on the
lower ground floor of the Clocktower.
It is open Tuesday-Saturday
10:30am-5pm.